escalated at start of this month when russia granted temporary asylum to edward snowden, the former nsa contractor who disclosed secrets about america's surveillance program but other issues divide the two countries as well as president obama noted in his press conference on friday. >> i think the latest episode is just one more in a number of emerging differences we've seen over the last several months around syria, around human rights issues, where, you know, it is probably appropriate for us to take a pause. >> now, secretary of state john kerry and defense secretary chuck hagel did meet with their russian counterparts on friday to discuss the war in syria. russia has supported the regime of bashar al assad and gave them weapons, and russian's draconian gay laws. last month putin made it illegal for couples anywhere in the world to adopt russian children. weeks before that putin signed laws banning so-called homosexual propaganda and authorizing police to arrest four nationalings of being pro-gay. this has made for tense months between united states and russia and president obama dow